Letter to the Editor

Graham gives praise t John Profumo who, despite his lapse from grace with Christine Keeler, gave sterling service to the community right up to his death.

Dear Ray,

I have always lamented that GOOD news never appears to be THE news. Bad news always makes the headlines and all the pleasant things in the world hardly ever get published. In this connection, how many of us have heard of Toynbee Hall, a charitable settlement in the City of London? Not many, I suspect.

For over forty years, the late John Profumo toiled day and night to keep this charity alive. It could not have been easy because, if ever anybody was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, it was Profumo, whose grandfather was a wealthy Italian aristocrat. However, when the Christine Keeler call-girl scandal came to light, he immediately resigned from the government and sought a way to help the under-privileged. Hence, he spent the rest of his life running Toynbee Hall in every way from administration to cleaning out the drains and the toilets.

This selfless work only came to light in the press (as far as I know) when he was awarded, in 1975, the CBE for his dedication to the Toynbee Hall project. How sad that this heart-warming story was not considered interesting enough for publication. I look forward to the day when good news will be the norm, but I think I am whistling in the wind.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Forster